Draft coupling



' J. OBERG DRAFT COUPLING Filed Feb. 13 1922 INVENTOR.

WITNESS:

ATTORNEY.

Patented Jan. 1, 18243.

- com: canes, or neuter, MINNESOTA.

DRAFT COUPLING.

Application filed February 13, 1922. Serial Ito. 536,333.

.To all whom c't may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN OBERG, a citizen of the United States, residingat Bovey, in the county of Itasca and State of Minnesota, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Draft Couplings, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in draft couplings and moreparticularly to a coupling whereby an auxiliary team or snap team may betemporarily attached to a road scraper to assist the regular team topull the scraper during the filling operation. The device is adapted foruse particularly in road work where wheel scrapers vare used. At presentit is the custom to attach the snap team to the ring in the end of thetongue of the scraper by means of a hook carried by a draft chain andconsiderable time is lost in hooking the team to the scraper tongue andunhooking it again.

My present invention contemplates the provision of a draft coupling todisplace the old chain and hook, my coupling being instantly connectedto or released from the scraper tongue and operated without efiort 0nthe part of the driver of the snap team.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter fullydescribed, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing which forms a part of this application and in whichFig. 1 is a view showing two teams temporarily hitched together by meansof my draft coupling, the team in the lead being the snap team.

Fig. 2 is a view of my draft coupling in side elevation and partly insection.

Fig. 3 is a view of the coupling in side elevation.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view showing the movable parts in an alteredposition.

Like reference characters denote corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

My draft coupling comprises a frame bar 1 provided at one end with aheaded hook 2 that carries the collar 3 that is secured to the evener 4of the snap team 5. Secured to opposite sides of the frame bar 1, at oneend thereof, by bolts 6 are the spaced plates 7,

8 forming in effect an extension of said bar, the free ends of saidplates being connected by the bolts 9, 10. A stout hook bar 11 isfulcrumed, approximately at its curved end, upon the bolt 10, the curvedend of said hook projecting beyond the plates 7, 8 and the straightportion thereof normally lying between said plates and extendingparallel to the frame bar 1, said hook being yieldingly retained innormal position by the coil spring 12 which connects it with the bolt 9,said hook bar being positively but releasablyretained in normal positionby means of the looped end 13 of a hand lever 14 fulcrumed upon a bolt15 to the frame bar, said lever 14 being formed with an integral finger16 adapted for contact with the frame bar 1 to limit the relativemovement of the lever in one direction, and being provided with a leafspring 17 that rests upon the frame bar to yieldingly limit the movementof the lever in the opposite direction.

With the draft coupling in normal position, shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 8the curved end of the hook bar 11 is placed in the ring at the end ofthe tongue 18 of the scraper. The snap team is then hitched to thescraper. To release this team the driver simply pulls upon the free endof the lever 1a and moves it into substantially the position shown inFig. 4 thus releasing the straight end of the hook bar when the weightof the load will move it into the position illustrated disengaging thatbar from the scraper.

What is claimed is 1. In a draft coupling, a frame bar, parallel spacedplates bolted to one end of said frame bar and to each other, a'hook barfulcrumed between said spaced plates, a spring connecting said hook barand the bolt that connects said spaced plates, a lever fulcrumed to saidframe bar for releasable engagement with one end of said hook bar, afinger integral with said lever for engagement with said frame'barwhereby relative movement of said members in one direction. is'limited,a spring for yieldingly preventing relative movement of said members inthe opposite direction, and means for securin said frame bar to anevener.

2. In a draft coupling, a frame bar, parallel spaced plates bolted toone end of said frame bar and to each other, a hook bar fulcrumedbetween said spaced plates, a spring connecting said hook bar and thebolt that connects said spaced plates, a lever fu1- crumed to said framebar'forreleasable en= gagement with one end of said hook bat, and meansfor securing said frame bar to an evener.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto atfixedmy signal0 ture in the presence of two subscribing Wit' nesses. o

JOHN OBERG. Witnesses:

' TOM REED,

J. E. Emoxson.

